Sauvé
by Possibly a Smidge Weird
Summary: "Because you are a Dalek." But she isn't. Oswin was converted, but never beaten. And the Doctor sees this. So what would happen if he could save her? Would she make it out alive? An AU version of Oswin's last scene in 'Asylum of the Daleks'.
1. Chapter 1

"Because you are a Dalek."

The Doctor's words ring through Oswin's head, and her reality falls apart. The room around her shrinks, and she backs against the wall as the screen flies towards her. "I am not a _Dalek. I am not a Dalek!_ I am human! " She shouts, but she knows her efforts are getting her nowhere. On the middle words she hears her voice change, becoming the high-pitched screech that the all creatures recognise as Dalek. She looks out through her viewscreen - eyestalk Oswin, eyestalk - and finally sees things as they are. The Doctor is stood to one side of her, and she can feel his hand now: it is pressed against the top part of her outer casing. Her, as in, the Dalek.

"You were human when you crashed here. It was you who climbed out of the pod. That was your ladder." The Doctor says, his voice taking on a more sympathetic tone after his previous hate-filled comment.

"I'm human." Oswin whimpers, but once again her voice is distorted into a metallic screech.

"Not anymore. Because you're right, you are a genius. And the Daleks need genius. They didn't just turn you into a puppet; they did a full conversion."

Oswin can't listen; she doesn't want to. But she also can't deny the truth of his words.

"The milk Oswin. The eggs and the milk for the soufflés. Where did you get the milk?"

"Eggs." No! Oswin can hear him talking, but all she can concentrate on is the battle in her head. It is his fault. It is his fault that she was trapped in a tiny space looking through a viewscreen. It is his fault that her dream is over. A surge of anger rushes through her, and her carefully built wall crumbles.

"Eggs...stir...min...ate." The anger keeps coming, and with her dream shattered there is nothing to stop it. "Ex-ter-min-ate. Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate." Oswin walks - rolls - forward, pushing the Doctor against the door. She ignores his words against her, her anger taking over her thoughts. But the word he is repeating breaks through to a human part of her mind. Oswin. Her name. Her human name. Because she is Oswin Oswald. And she is human.

Oswin stops moving, freezing in place with the Doctor pressed against the door behind him. The inhuman anger dissipates, leaving behind only despair. Oswin can't help it, she begins to cry. Massive sobs that wrack her small form and cause strange sounds to echo out in that screeching tone. She watches the Doctor as his eyes widen in realisation, recognising the sounds.

"Oswin?" He asks, his eyes turning soft.

"Help me. Please help me." Her voice doesn't sound Dalek this time; it sounds human. She can see the Doctor's surprised expression, and then he reaches out a hand and touches the same place on her casing again. This time though, Oswin doesn't feel a thing. "Oswin, I can't. If I open this up who knows what I'll find. Do you know what Daleks really look like? They're blobs of flesh in a glass cylinder. What if you're like that?"

"Then I'll take the shields down and you can run. But please just try. I need to know." Oswin watches as the Doctor considers his options, before nodding. He moves his hands to either side of the top part of the casing, and apologises before pulling it up.

Oswin lets out a shriek of pain as what feels like trails of fire run their way up her face. But the pain is forgotten when the next second she feels a hand on her head. The hand is the Doctor's, and she can feel it on her head. Her human head.

"Oh Oswin." He says, and she whimpers again, before tilting her head up. What she sees both terrifies her and makes her ridiculously happy. She can see the Doctor's face clearly, without any screens in the way. And it is one of the most wonderful things she has ever seen. But she can also see her surroundings, the tin can she is trapped in and the walls around her. The combination of sights both scares and elates her and she begins to cry. The Doctor reaches a hand towards her face, his palm cupping her jaw lightly and his thumb stroking her cheek; he smiles warmly at her, before pulling his hand away. It doesn't surprise her when his hand shows traces of deep red blood. She looks at him, her dark brown eyes expressing her question of what's next. She knows that if she actually opens her mouth the only thing she will be able to do will be scream in pain. He seems to get the message though, as he begins to explain what he is going to do.

"To get you out...I have to open the main bit of casing. But I don't know to what extent they've converted you. Getting you out might kill you. I have to ask you: can you take the shields down? Please." The Doctor leans down to be at the same level as Oswin, his eyes staring directly at her. She gazes back, and the pure emotion behind his eyes strikes a chord in her. He has his friends; Nina and the angry Scottish woman. He doesn't need to help her. But he is. The least she can do is return the favour.

Closing her eyes, Oswin begins struggling against her own consciousness. She slips back into the dream, the imagined escape pod, and her computer. She runs to her chair, grabbing her keyboard and falling backwards into it. She begins to type frantically, hacks the pathweb as if it was a general issue security system, and starts to undo the shields. She is about to turn the planet's shielding off, but pauses; her index finger hovering over the return key. Her mind races over possibilities, before she begins to type again, her fingers zooming over the keys. She stops, thinks for a moment, and then continues. When she is done, she presses the enter key with a flourish, and then sits back, allowing her tired eyes to droop closed.

When they open again, it is to the sight of the Doctor's anxious face. Oswin nods slightly, even this small action causing her terrible pain. The Doctor smiles appreciatively at her, before leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead. Normally Oswin would have said something, but instead she simply smiles back as well as she can. She watches the Doctor until he disappears beyond her small area of vision. She can still hear him though, and she listens intently, hearing strange sucking noises, like suction cups being released. She also hears an awful lot of clanks, which echo through the casing and up her body. A particularly loud clang sounds, sending a shooting pain up her body as it shakes the Dalekanium casing. Oswin can't contain her cry of pain, and a short, sharp scream resounds around the padded cell that the pair now occupy. The Doctor's head pops up in front of her, his right hand reaching out to pat her hair as he whispers his apology. His hand wipes her cheek again, before he disappears once more. His tinkering begins again, as he works to remove her from the Dalek shell. After several more painful spasms, the Doctor's face reappears in front of her. He looks deep into her eyes, his green orbs searching, before he moves forward and places another chaste kiss on her forehead. He pulls back and places his hands on opposite sides of the metal casing, and swiftly pulls them apart.

Oswin screams as she feels her body being pulled apart. The wires being yanked out of her felt like white hot needles, burning their way out of her small body. The pain is nearly unbearable, but Oswin manages to hold it in, halting her screams by closing her mouth quickly and biting her tongue. She feels the metallic taste of blood as it flows from her tongue.

The Doctor notices her pain, and she can see in his eyes that he hates being the reason for it. He goes back down to where the wires are attached to her. He works quickly, pulling the remaining wires out of her body, muttering apologies constantly as she struggles against the urge to scream. When he finally removes the last wire from her soft flesh Oswin falls forward, her small body collapsing into the Doctor's strong arms. The Doctor catches her, supporting her head and pulling her bleeding body into him. She still wears the huge winter coat she had worn when climbing down the ladder from the crashed ship, but it is torn and ripped where the wires had been inserted into her. The Doctor cradles her close to him, putting one arm under her knees and the other around her back. He lifts her from the floor and carries her out of the room. He walks down the corridors, past the 'intensive care' Daleks, careful not to jostle his precious cargo.

The Doctor's pace doesn't change, and he murmurs soothingly to Oswin as she hisses with the pain caused by his constant movement. He reaches the teleport just as the shields drop, the circuits in the walls shorting out and sparking as bombs batter the planet's surface. He races into the room, ignoring his companions' worried glances, and places Oswin on the teleport before beckoning them to join them. Rory hands him the remote, and the Doctor kneels down next to Oswin, pushing her hair from her face. He smiles at her, and Oswin musters just enough energy to return the gesture, before he presses the button, activating the teleport.

**A.N: **Well hello people! This is just an idea that came to me during a really long car ride. I know people have done this before, but I wanted to have a go myself. Just to let you know; this is an experiment into a different writing style, so _**please review**_ and let me know how I've done. I probably won't continue this, but if you want me to just send a review and I'll consider keeping this going.  
-Weird :)


	2. Chapter 2

Appearing on the TARDIS, the Doctor's first thought is to make sure everyone is safe. He runs to Amy and Rory first, checking that they both made the trip unharmed, before he kneels on the ground beside Oswin. She is bleeding a lot more now from her wounds, the crimson liquid spilling out onto the TARDIS floor. Her already pale face is now even paler, her skin becoming clammy as the blood gushes from her numerous cuts. Her eyes slide open as the Doctor strokes her hair out of her face, smiles gently down at her, and then scoops her up into his strong arms once again. Rory notices the way the Doctor holds her. Not the same way the Time Lord had carried Amy; Oswin's head is resting on the Doctor's shoulder with one arm wrapped loosely around his neck and the other resting on her stomach. When he had held Amy, the Doctor had let her head hang back, her arms also hanging by her side. Rory can't help but compare the two. The way the Doctor is carrying this girl now... well the closest Rory could come to a conclusion is that he cared. He really cared.

The Doctor looks at Rory, breaking him out of his trance and silently asking him to follow. He then turns on the spot, walking out of the console room in the direction of the sick bay as he whispers comforting words to Oswin. At one point he slows, leaning down to press a kiss to Oswin's forehead, as he notices that her eyes have drifted shut again. She blinks back into full consciousness, her mouth turning up slightly to reassure the Doctor that she is alright. He keeps walking, and when she starts to shiver slightly from heat and blood loss he telepathically asks the TARDIS to turn the temperature up. Oswin's shivering stops soon after that, becoming only an occasional quiver.

They reach the TARDIS sick bay in a few minutes, which the Doctor seems confused about. Rory observes him as he gently places Oswin on one of the cots, smoothing back her hair again as she whimpers in pain. He then moves to a large cupboard, opens the doors, and begins to rummage through them. He pauses in his movements, and turns to face Rory.

"Can you take a look at her?" He asks, and Rory nods. He steps up to Oswin's bedside and reaches towards her coat, but the young woman jerks away, eliciting a cry of pain as she lands on her wounds. The Doctor is by her side in a flash, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Oswin, this is Rory." He says, pointing to the other man. "He's a very good friend of mine, and I know he won't hurt you."

Rory feels that he ought to say something, so he speaks softly. "I'm a nurse, I'm just going to see what... injuries you've got and how we can fix them." Oswin's eyes turns from the Doctor's face to his, her dark brown orbs boring into his, as though attempting to read his mind. She must see the sincerity in his eyes, because she moves closer to him, soundlessly giving him permission. The Doctor returns to his search, and Rory reaches out to slowly peel the coat from Oswin's body. He doesn't make a sound as she whimpers in pain, instead focussing on the task at hand.

The scraps of fabric are pulled off her body, to reveal a turtleneck jumper. The once cream coloured fabric is spattered in blood; some of it dried to crisp dark masses and other crimson patches that are constantly growing. Seeing no other way of getting the jumper off without hurting Oswin, Rory reaches for a scalpel and begins to cut down the seams of the fabric. He tries to ignore Oswin's helpless whimpers and grasps the side of the material, before pulling slowly. Oswin lets out a cry of pain as the dried blood on the jumper stays stuck to her skin, pulling at her flesh as Rory slowly removes it. She doesn't attempt to silence herself this time, and abandoning his search the Doctor runs to her side and begins to stroke her face and hair in an effort to comfort her.

Once Rory finished removing her jumper Oswin lay in just a thin shirt. She is breathing deeply, making a throaty sound. Rory is now the one searching, whilst the Doctor is sat at her bedside running his fingers through her hair. Oswin finds that she likes the feeling; it reminds her of when her mother used to comb her hair for her when she was a child. Rory returns to her side moments later, holding a small wet cloth in his hand. He reaches down to hold one side of her face, and she looks at him with wide eyes. He moves the cloth to her face and begins to gently stroke it up and down, removing the remaining blood from her forehead and cheeks. He then moves down her neck, where he sees many small punctures in her skin leaking red liquid. He runs the cloth over them gently at first, then slightly harder. She doesn't make a sound as he works, but her breathing becomes heavier.

Rory moves away again, walking to the sink and washing the cloth out. He moves back again and begins to clean Oswin's stomach, wiping away the fresh blood and scratching lightly at the dried blood until it too comes off. There are no wounds on Oswin's legs, so Rory moves away to wash out the cloth again. He returns with a two clean cloths and a jar containing a purple gel. He raises his eyebrows at the Doctor when he sees the colour, and the Time Lord chuckles. Rory then hands the second cloth to the Doctor and opens the jar; placing it on the table above Oswin's head. Both men then set to work; Rory rubbing the gel into the wounds in Oswin's stomach while the Doctor takes care of her face and neck. Oswin shifts uncomfortably at first, before pausing in her movements.

"Why has it stopped hurting?" The question sounds small and child-like, although Oswin's voice is hoarse from screaming, grating against her throat on its way out.

"It's a sort of anaesthetic. It'll stop you feeling pain and help the TARDIS to find the wounds so that she can heal them." Oswin gives a small nod at this response, and the Doctor leans down to press a kiss to the small part of her forehead not covered in the purple gel.

"Alright, what now Doctor?" Rory asks as he stands straight again, having finished covering Oswin's cuts.

The Doctor runs to a small computer terminal and begins to press buttons, and a machine from the other side of the room lights up and moves forward to Oswin's bedside. "I've got to set up a scan. If I can just..." The Doctor is pressing buttons while speaking, but trails off when the lights on the machine go out. "Well, that's not right." He states, frowning at the computer screen and beginning to type again. The machine lights up for a second time... and the lights fade off again just as quickly. "Why won't you scan her?" The Doctor yells at the screen, and is surprised to see a scan appear. Next to the image of Oswin's brain a word is flashing red. Dalek. "No but you don't understand, she's-"

"Doctor!" Rory's worried shout reaches his ears and he spins around, seeing Oswin's head lolling to one side. "Doctor, she's stopped breathing!" Rory yells, and the Doctor is next to him in a moment, pulling an oxygen mask from under the bed. He lets one hand hover over her mouth, and when he doesn't feel even the slightest puff of air he leans forward and places his lips over Oswin's; breathing two short breaths into her body. His worrying lessens somewhat when Oswin responds by moving, and then doubles when she leans over to the other side of the bed and begins to cough up blood. The Doctor leans forward and pulls her back down when she finishes coughing, and places the oxygen mask over her face.

"Rory?" The Doctor questions anxiously, again running his fingers through Oswin's hair.

"She's bleeding internally; if that's not fixed she'll die pretty quickly." The Doctor's eyes widen slightly, and her runs from his place at Oswin's side to the control terminal again, and types for a few moments. The machine lights up again, but fails to stay on for more than three seconds.

"Damnit, why won't you help her?!" The Doctor yells, slamming his open palm against the metal wall. The TARDIS wails in protest, and the same brain scan appears on the screen. The Doctor just looks down, then back over at the dying girl. "Please." He whispers, his voice shaking. The TARDIS lets out another wail, but the machine lights up again and moves back and forth over Oswin's body. The Doctor gives the computer a grateful look before heading back to Oswin's bedside.

**A.N: **Wow. I never expected such a response to this story. Thankyou so much to the people who followed and favourited, and this chapter is for those of you who reviewed, because you all asked for me to continue. Well, I hope this chapter is as good as the last, and I have a question. Well, two actually: **1)** Do you want me to continue this into a proper story? **2)** Would you prefer it to not have a pairing, be Whouffle (Oswin/Eleven) or be Rory/Oswin? The last one came from somehow managing to find videos of Clara and Rory. Still don't know how I managed it, but that's YouTube for you.  
Anyway, if you want me to continue this, **_please review_**, and I'll update as soon as I have an idea of what you guys would like to see.  
-Weird :)


	3. Chapter 3

"What's it doing?" Rory asks as the Doctor walks back towards Oswin and him.

"The machine or the TARDIS? The machine is fixing any internal injuries by comparing her body with a normal human's, a bit like nanogenes do. The TARDIS..." The Doctor pauses, looking quizzically up at Rory. "She just didn't want to help her."

Rory doesn't want to accept this answer, but when he sees the look on the Doctor's face as he gazes at Oswin worriedly, he decides to drop the subject.

"You just sleep now, okay? You'll be better when you wake up." The Doctor whispers softly to Oswin, stroking her hair; a gesture that now seems natural. Oswin's eyes go wide as he speaks, and she begins to shake her head and scratch at the oxygen mask. The Doctor grabs her hands before she can hurt herself and lowers the mask from her face.

Oswin swallows for a moment before she lets out a quiet, whispered, protest. "No. I don't want to sleep." The Doctor looks down at her, his hands having returned to her hair, but simply laying there instead of stroking. "I-I might wake up b-back there again." Oswin looks and sounds absolutely terrified, a far cry from her cheery voiceovers they'd heard earlier that day, when she had been trapped in the Dalek shell. The Doctor suddenly sees an image of the padded cell again. _Oswin has just tried to attack him, but instead of asking for help Oswin tells him to run. And he turns and runs out of the room, and the corridor behind him explodes. And Oswin isn't safe. Oswin's small body isn't cradled in his arms; he hasn't gotten her out of her Dalek prison. He has left her to die._ What, no; that didn't happen! Where did that come from?

The Doctor shakes himself out of his thoughts and brings his attention back to Oswin. He remembers the words she's just spoken, and the genuine fear in her eyes. The Doctor leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead, which is slowly clearing of the purple gel as the machine above her continues its work. "I'll stay with you the whole time. And I promise you won't end up back there. But you need to rest; otherwise you might hurt yourself more." His lips brush her skin as he talks, before he moves away. She is looking up at him gratefully, and the level of trust he sees in her dark brown orbs stuns him. It makes him feel an immediate sense of responsibility for whatever happens to her.

Her eyes follow him, and he stays next to her whilst stroking her hair, waiting until her eyes slide shut and her breathing evens out before he moves away. He walks across the room, still facing her, and then turns to see Rory standing in the doorway. "Have you been there the whole time?" The Doctor asks, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah. I figured maybe if I waited around you'd expand on the 'TARDIS didn't want to help' point." Rory levels his gaze at the Doctor and raises an eyebrow questioningly.

"Don't ask me that Rory, I don't want to answer it." The Doctor turns away from him, stepping forwards and beginning to pace aimlessly.

"You saw something on that screen, the TARDIS showed you something. What was it?" Rory steps forward while speaking, imploring the Doctor to answer truthfully.

"Nothing, Rory, it was nothing. Just a scan of brain activity; what she was thinking about." The Doctor replies while rubbing his hands together, casting glances at both Oswin's sleeping figure and the computer terminal. He turns back to face the other man, and watches as Rory's eyes widen in realisation.

"She's still Dalek." The words spill out of Rory's mouth as he too glances between the girl and the computer, and the Doctor's head drops in sadness as he nods. Rory leans back against the closed door, looking up at the ceiling. "So what are you going to do?"

The Doctor runs his hands through his hair, staring at Oswin, before straightening. "I'm going to fix her. She survived a year as a Dalek without help. She survived then turning her into one of them. You heard what she said; to turn someone into a Dalek you subtract love and add anger. Oswin was never angry and she never tried to hurt me; not until I broke her dream. She created a false reality around herself to keep her human. If there was anyone who I though could overcome Dalek programming, it's her." The Doctor walks forward and begins to stroke Oswin's cheek with his thumb, cupping her face with one hand. His gaze travels down her body, for the first time noticing the state of the clothes she is wearing. The thin shirt she had worn under her jumper and coat was torn across the stomach, and her trousers were ripped in several places from the Doctor extracting her from the Dalek casing.

The Doctor turns to Rory, and sees him staring up at the ceiling in thought. "I'll help. Fix her, that is. I mean, she saved my life. She saved all our lives." Rory stutters slightly, and the Doctor nods at him, before he speaks.

"Do you think you could get Amy to find Oswin some clothes? These are ruined." He gestures to Oswin, before thinking and continuing. "She probably won't be able to find the right size, what with the TARDIS being... well, just tell her to get some of her clothes and we'll make them work." The Doctor stammers through his thought, smiling as Rory nods and walks out.

* * *

Rory walks down the yellow TARDIS corridor, attempting to find his wife. Well, he supposes she is still his wife; but their disagreement is still unsolved, and the time after his discovery of the Doctor's protection bracelet on her wrist had been spend in uncomfortable silence. Neither of them had spoken or moved, except to put a small amount of distance between them to try to ease the awkwardness of the situation. Rory is still unsure of where they stand, but he hopes they can overcome this problem.

He continues to stroll down the corridors, keeping a leisurely pace as he knows it will be a while before Oswin wakes up. As he comes to another cluster of doors, Rory glances around at the sound of Amy's voice. It is coming from one of the ship's numerous bathrooms, and as he listens he realises he can not only make out the sound of Amy's whispered voice, but also the occasional tinny buzzing of an answer across a phone line. He walks forward and presses his ear against the cold metal of the door, straining to hear the conversation.

He doesn't catch the first part of Amy's sentence, but then he focusses on her words. "...Jeff, I'm sorry-" Amy stops talking, and Rory considers that she may have been cut off, and then she's speaking again. "I know I said we'd meet up, but I can't... No! It's just, Rory and I talked, and I don't know what's going to happen next... Yeah, alright I'll see you then. Bye." Rory starts when he realises she's about to come out of the bathroom, and takes a few quick steps backward; pretending to look around the rooms.

He walks forwards as she exits, almost running into her. "Oh, sorry Amy! I was just looking for you. The Doctor was wondering if you could let Oswin borrow any of your clothes." Rory stutters, trying to hide the way his mind is racing after what he's just overheard.

"Why don't you just go to the TARDIS wardrobe? I'm sure you'll find something in there that she'd like. And besides, have you seen how small she is? None of my stuff would fit her." Amy looks slightly flustered as she responds to Rory's question, and her eyes seem to dart around the corridor; trying to find something to focus on that isn't the man standing in front of her.

"Yeah. Well the Doctor asked if you had some, because the TARDIS doesn't really like Oswin-"

"Fine, sure, whatever. I'll just go get something." Amy walks away from Rory quickly, leaving him unsure of whether to follow her or not. He decides to go after her, but hangs back a few feet to give her some of the space she obviously wants. He is still confused about the phone call, but he doesn't want to ask her about it, because he knows it was something he isn't supposed to hear.

They reach their room in a few minutes, and as Amy walks to the wardrobe Rory notices the double bed. With him having to look after Oswin now, as the TARDIS is extremely reluctant to do so, he knows they are very likely to be staying here for at least a few weeks. He's now wishing he'd never asked the Doctor to get rid of those bunk beds now.

Any returns with a pair of loose trousers and what is probably the smallest t-shirt she owns, although Rory can tell just from looking at it that it will fit Oswin like a dress. He smiles at the thought of how small the girl is, and wonders at her age. She looks no more than early twenties, but that could just be her height fooling him. He decides to ask her when she wakes up.

Before Rory realises, they are back at the sick bay, and Amy is handing the clothes she got for Oswin to the Doctor. He smiles gratefully at her, and Rory notes that he hasn't moved from where he was stood when Rory had left the room. The Doctor gently shakes Oswin's shoulder, rousing the small woman from her sleep. She moans slightly before her eyes open, and she looks up into the Doctor's face.

"My head hurts." She mumbles, bringing her right hand up to her forehead. That's when she notices the IV going into the back of her hand, and looks questioningly up at the Doctor.

"It's a pain killer. It's only a minor one, so your head might still hurt, but anything stronger and you would struggle to stay awake." Oswin nods at his explanation, then glances at Amy and Rory before looking back at him.

"Why did you wake me?" She asks, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I thought you might want to get changed into some proper clothes. You can borrow some of Amy's stuff; it probably won't fit but it'll be better than what you've got on." The Doctor gestures to her body, and Oswin moves her head slightly to look down at herself. Her lips quirk into a sarcastic smile, before she looks back again.

"Okay." She says in answer, and the Doctor hands her the clothes he is holding. She gives the clothes a look over, before smiling gratefully at Amy. However, when she attempts to get off the bed and the Doctor catches her as she stumbles, Oswin realises she needs some help. "Um, Amy, can you give me a hand changing?" She asks, and the older woman nods at her, moving to her side.

Amy shoos the boys out of the room, and Rory and the Doctor exit as Amy begins to help Oswin to change. "How long do you think it'll take for her to recover?" Rory asks, facing the Doctor as they wait outside the door, and the Doctor knows he's not just talking about physically. The Doctor's face is dark as he looks at the other man, his eyes drawn.

"Who knows?" The Doctor answers, and all Rory can do is accept his answer.

**A.N:**Hello again! Thankyou so much to all the people who reviewed last chapter, and for those who answered the questions I asked. I have decided to continue this story, so it will now be about 10 or so chapters long. In regards to you Amy/Rory shippers; don't worry, it'll all work out in the end. Or will it?  
Anyway, thankyou for reading, and _**please review**_ to let me know how I've done and if you like it so far.  
-Weird :)


	4. Chapter 4

**2 Weeks Later.**

Oswin's eyes follow the Doctor as he strolls out of the room. She hears him talking quietly to Rory, before their footsteps fade away into silence. She sighs slightly, rolling onto her side in boredom, but her eyes flash as she realises. They've left now - after she'd told the Doctor that there was no point sitting next to her being bored when it was not going to make her feel any better (although, she suspected it might) and he'd argued with her for a few minutes – so now she is free to do whatever she wants until they get back. Not that she will do anything stupid, just something that the Doctor and Rory had told her not to do.

She wonders for a moment about what she can do, and her eyes spark when she produces an answer. She quickly listens for any signs of movement, then swings her legs around and leans down to place her feet on the floor. She slides down the bed slowly, only going a bit at a time and cursing the Doctor for making the bed so tall. _Seriously, who were these beds made for; my feet can't touch the floor!_ Oswin's feet finally make contact with solid ground, and now her arms aren't the only thing holding her up. She starts to put more weight onto her feet, slowly easing her arms off the bed until she is standing without support. She smiles happily at her achievement, knowing that she has proved the Doctor wrong; he had thought that her legs wouldn't be able to support her weight.

Oswin determines her plan of attack, and then slowly lifts her right foot. This is where her plan fails; the added load makes her left leg collapse, and the machinery comes falling down around her as Oswin grasps at random objects in an attempt to keep herself upright. She ends up crying out as she falls to the ground; feeling a sharp pain in her left ankle as she lands on it.

There is the sound of hammering footsteps before a worried Rory bursts into the room, eyes widening as he takes in the scene before zeroing in on Oswin. He runs to her aid, quickly navigating the fallen equipment and dropping to the floor beside her. Rory reaches out to Oswin, wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her up from the floor. Oswin tries to take the single step over to the bed, but ends up hobbling and leaning on Rory as she finds putting pressure on her ankle extremely painful. Rory helps Oswin to sit on her bed, lifting her up and then kneeling down in front of her.

Rory carefully grips Oswin's left foot, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. He looks at her ankle, instructing her to tell him when it hurts, before beginning to poke and prod it gently in different places. He quickly comes to the conclusion that it isn't broken, just sprained. He goes to the cabinet in the corner of the sick bay and retrieves a bandage, which he wraps tightly around her ankle. With that, he smiles at her and hops up to sit beside her on the bed.

Oswin looks down as she feels Rory's eyes on her. "Oswin, why did you do that?" She hears the disappointment in his tone and begins to feel ashamed of herself.

"I just wanted to walk around. You and the Doctor keep telling me to stay still and that, but staying still is killing me. I want to be able to move around again, because otherwise it's just boring." Oswin hangs her head further, but looks up when she feels Rory's hand on her shoulder.

"You know the only reason we don't want you to walk around was because your muscles aren't ready to handle your weight. You haven't used them in a year." Rory's voice was gentle, but Oswin still felt annoyed. Seeing the look on her face, Rory continues. "Okay, how about I take you on a walk. Just to have a look around the TARDIS. We could even go to the library." Rory feels nervous suggesting this, because he knows it's probably not good for her, but the huge smile he receives from the small brunette leaves him with no doubt that he has made the right decision.

"Yes, thank you!" Oswin says, giving him a short hug, before Rory stands up from her bed and helps her to her feet. Oswin leans heavily against Rory, her ankle still causing her pain, but she ignores it. They walk out of the sick bay and Rory closes the door behind them.

* * *

"Where are Amy and the Doctor?" Oswin asks. They've been walking for about five minutes now and she hasn't seen a sign of either Chin Boy or the Scottish red-head. Oswin's ankle is starting to hurt again, twinging suddenly every few steps, but the sense of freedom she gets just from walking around is enough to block the majority of the pain.

"They've gone to save some planet. I don't know what it's called, Euda-something? Anyway, they wanted me to come too, but I said I'd stay here and look after you. Good thing I did too." Rory tried to make light of the situation, but Oswin could see that there was a shadow hanging over his eyes, dimming his usually bright persona.

"You could have gone with them. I would have been fine." Oswin looks down at the ground, and when Rory glances at her he realises he must not have managed to hide his troubles well. She seems to be blaming herself for him being upset.

"Hey, no, it's not your fault. It's just... I'm not sure where I stand with Amy at the moment and... Well, things have been a bit awkward between us lately. I was actually happy to be left here." Rory smiles down at Oswin and she smiles back, glad that she isn't the cause of his unhappiness. "One thing I am annoyed about is that the library is not this far away."

Oswin rolls her eyes. "Its cause the stupid box doesn't like me. It's probably moved it to the other side of the ship, or some other inaccessible place." They pass another door, and when Oswin glances inside she finds the usual appliances that would be found in a "Kitchen!"

Rory jumps as the small woman lets out a yell before pulling him back into the room they've just passed. It is a small kitchen-diner area, with an oven, fridge, stove and multiple cupboards; as well as a large ceramic worktop. Oswin grins widely at the sight in front of her, thinking of the endless possibilities of what she could make. Rory just watches her as she admires the kitchen, walking her over to the fridge upon her instruction.

"Maybe there'll be some cheese, and some butter. Yes probably. And there'll definitely be some milk. Everyone's got milk." Oswin looks extremely excited as she talks to herself, opening the fridge to find all of the items she's just mentions. Her eyes then turn to the largest cupboard and she directs Rory to it. "Maybe I can find some flour too! Flour and eggs! Flour and eggs. Eggs..."

_You will let us enter! We will enter! You will let us enter! We will enter! We will enter! Enter! Enter! Enter! Enter! Enter! You will exterminate! You will exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!_

Rory watches as Oswin freezes, the grin falling from her face to be replaced with first an expression of pain... and then morphing into one that can only be described as pure anger. Her warm brown eyes harden and her hands, which had been loosely gripping his shirt for support, tighten into fists. Rory takes a step back, still supporting Oswin's weight as her hands are still fisted in his shirt. "Oswin?" Rory looks anxiously down at Oswin, who is now facing him directly.

The small woman pushes them both backwards, leaning on Rory for a moment before moving over to the kitchen counter. She starts to mutter "Exterminate" under her breath as she leans on the counter, before moving a hand forwards. Oswin's dark eyes search the worktop, coming to a stop when she notices the block full of knives. Her hand darts out a wraps around the handle of the carving knife and pulls back, yanking it roughly out of the knife block. Rory stands a foot away from her, staring at her; hopelessly confused. Oswin then rounds on Rory, raising the sharp knife above her head. "Exterminate!"

**A.N: **Should I kill Rory? Decisions, decisions. Anyway, I'm back! Sorry about the long wait with this chapter, but I got stuck and had to re-write quite a bit of it. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. Once again, thankyou for the reviews of last chapter, and _**please review **_so I know how I'm going.  
I'll try to get another chapter up before the 3rd, but if I don't the next update will be after the 10th of August, because I'm going camping for a week. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and thanks for reading.  
-Weird :)


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